Before replacing players, switch their roles.
“Fixation is the way to death. Fluidity is the way to life.”
— Miyamoto Musashi
Successful teams require more than great players — they need people to play complementary roles that reinforce each other. Roles define expected behaviors — they drive clarity for both the individual playing it and the team.
However, unlike titles, roles must be fluid. Just as we can get stuck playing a particular role in our families, our business roles can also grow stagnant.
A role is not a title. It’s the part played by a team member in a particular situation or project. A role can be played by more than one person. One person can play various parts.
A role represents a fraction of work. Unlike a position or title, it’s not a full-time job — roles don’t equal souls.
Avoiding Team Stagnation
“Fluidity and discontinuity are central to the reality in which we live.” — Mary Catherine Bateson
According to Social Psychologist Enrique Pichón Riviere, a role in an organize…
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